Kiwi plant named &#39;Hongyang&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new cultivar of kiwi plant ( Actinidia chinensis ) named ‘Hongyang’ is disclosed. The fruit of ‘Hongyang’ is notable for its green and reddish-purple flesh.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

None.

LATIN NAME OF THE GENUS AND SPECIES OF THE PLANT CLAIMED

Actinidia chinensis

VARIETY DENOMINATION

‘Hongyang’

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A new and distinct kiwi plant (Actinidia chinensis) named ‘Hongyang’ is described herein. ‘Hongyang’ originated as a seedling of Actinidia chinensis var. rufopulpa. In 1984, the inventors of the claimed plant sowed seeds of wild Actinidia chinensis var. rufopulpa at Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China From the resulting seedlings, 3213 healthy young plants were selected for observation. Of the selected plants, 921 set fruit and developed seeds. ‘Hongyang’ was among the 921 plants, and was notable for its unique red-cored flesh. From 1987 to 2000, ‘Hongyang’ was asexually propagated by grafting at Chengdu and other locations, and has been found to remain true to type through successive asexually propagated generations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

‘Hongyang’ was selected for unique flesh coloration. The flesh surrounding the seeds near the core of the fruit is red, while the remainder of the flesh is green in color. ‘Hongyang’ is distinguishable from its parent Actinidia chinensis var. rufopulpa by this and other characteristics, as noted in the table below: TABLE 1 Comparison of ‘Hongyang’ to Parent Actinidia chinensis var. rufopulpa (measurements given are approximate) Actinidia chinensis ‘Hongyang’ var. rufopulpa Fruit: Shape of Top Concave Flat Fruit: Color of Skin Greenish- Yellowish brown brown Fruit: Color of Core Red purple Greenish white

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The FIGURE shows sectioned fruit of ‘Hongyang’ kiwi.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following detailed botanical description is based on observations made during the 2003 growing season at Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. All colors are described according to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart. It should be understood that the characteristics described will vary somewhat depending upon cultural practices and climatic conditions, and will vary with location and season. Quantified measurements are expressed as an average of measurements taken from a number of individual plants of the new variety. The measurements of any individual plant, or any group of plants, of the new variety may vary from the stated average.

-   Plant: sex — female -   Plant: vigor — medium (similar to ‘Hayward’) -   Young shoot: hairiness — present -   Young shoot: length of hair — short -   Young shoot: thickness — medium (0.75 to 0.80 cm) -   Young shoot: color — light brown -   Stem: number of lenticels — few (avg. 7.9) -   Stem: shape of lenticels — ellipsoid -   Stem: size of bud support — medium (0.46 to 0.55 cm) -   Stem: leaf scar — shallow (1.3 to 2.3 mm) -   Young leaf: shape — cordate -   Young leaf: shape of apex — obtuse -   Young leaf: arrangement of basal lobes — slightly apart -   Young leaf: serrate margin — few -   Young leaf: anthocyanin coloration of petiole — strong -   Leaf blade: area — small (avg. less than 180 cm²) -   Leaf blade: undulation on upper side — strong -   Leaf blade: green color of upper side — dark -   Leaf blade: length of petiole — short (avg. less than 9.0 cm) -   Flower: number of inflorescences — few (avg. less than 3.5) -   Flower: number of lateral florets — few (avg. Less than 0.4 per     lateral) -   Flower: size — small (avg. less than 40 mm) -   Petal: length/width ratio — small (avg. less than 1.15) -   Petal: main color on adaxial side — white -   Petal: curvature of apex — cup shaped -   Petal: number — medium (avg. 6.6 to 7.5 per flower) -   Style: number — medium (30 to 39.9 per flower) -   Style: attitude — erect -   Ovary: shape — ellipsoid -   Ovary: anthocyanin coloration of longitudinal profile — present -   Anther: number — medium (avg. 180.0 to 249.9 per flower) -   Fruit: general shape — cylindrical -   Fruit: weight — avg. 70 to 80 g -   Fruit: position of the largest cross section — fruit middle -   Fruit: persistence of sepals — absent -   Fruit: shape of top — concave -   Fruit: color of skin — greenish brown -   Fruit: color of flesh — mostly green, reddish-purple near center -   Fruit: length of hair — short -   Fruit: adherence of hairs to skin — weak -   Fruit: length of stalk — short (avg. 2.5 to 3.4 cm) -   Fruit: thickness of stalk — thin (avg. less than 2.4 mm) -   Fruit: ratio of stalk/fruit length — small (avg. 0.50 to 0.59) -   Fruit: color of inner pericarp (around seeds in flesh) — red -   Fruit: general shape of core (in cross section) — ellipsoid -   Flesh: percent soluble solids — high (avg. greater than 16%) -   Fragrance — heavy -   Fruit: sweetness — high -   Time of vegetative bud burst: — very early -   Time of beginning of flowering: — early -   Time of maturity for harvest: — very early -   Time of beginning of fruiting: — very early -   Difficulty of post maturity: — easy -   Shelf life: — medium 

1. A new and distinct kiwi plant substantially as shown and described herein. 